Two-way cable tv conversion system
First Claim
1. In an interactive television system, a method for communicating information to at least one central receiver from at least one remote receiver location, each remote receiver location connected to a cable television system, the cable television system for transmitting at least one video signal in a downlink direction over at least one cable, the at least one cable having at least one amplifier along the at least one cable, each amplifier serving at least one remote location, the method comprising the steps of:
- (i) at at least one remote location;
(a) modulating the information to be communicated from the at least one remote location onto a first carrier;
(b) transmitting the modulated first carrier of step (i)(a) onto the at least one cable only during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first cable channel;
(ii) after at least one cable amplifier in the downlink direction from the at least one remote location;
(a) detecting the modulated information received on the at least one cable and retransmitting the modulated information over the air on a second carrier during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first broadcast channel.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A bidirectional cable television system provides for transmission of signals from cable subscribers downlink in the same direction as the ensemble of television channels which the cable television system is already constructed to deliver. The subscriber signals may be transmitted over the cable in the blanking intervals of a cable television channel, using the T-NET technique described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,036. Alternatively, the signals may be carried over a dedicated channel, or transmitted cochannel along a cable television channel carrying ordinary programming by adding the subscriber information to alternating video frames in alternating polarity to achieve visual cancellation. The subscriber signals are collected after the last distribution line amplifier in the cable downlink. The collected signals are transmitted to a central receiver via wireless or other customary means such as a modem. The collected signals may alternatively be transmitted over the air to the central receiver in the blanking intervals of a broadcast television channel using the T-NET technique.
48 Citations
25 Claims
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1. In an interactive television system, a method for communicating information to at least one central receiver from at least one remote receiver location, each remote receiver location connected to a cable television system, the cable television system for transmitting at least one video signal in a downlink direction over at least one cable, the at least one cable having at least one amplifier along the at least one cable, each amplifier serving at least one remote location, the method comprising the steps of:
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(i) at at least one remote location; (a) modulating the information to be communicated from the at least one remote location onto a first carrier; (b) transmitting the modulated first carrier of step (i)(a) onto the at least one cable only during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first cable channel; (ii) after at least one cable amplifier in the downlink direction from the at least one remote location; (a) detecting the modulated information received on the at least one cable and retransmitting the modulated information over the air on a second carrier during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first broadcast channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. In an interactive television system, a method for communicating information to at least one central receiver from at least one remote receiver location, each remote receiver location connected to a cable television system, the cable television system for transmitting at least one video signal in a downlink direction over at least one cable, the at least one cable having at least one amplifier along the at least one cable, each amplifier serving at least one remote location, the method comprising the steps of:
(i) at at least one remote location; (a) receiving information from a wireless remote control device; (b) modulating the information go be communicated from the at least one remote location onto a first carrier; (c) transmitting the modulated first carrier of step (i)(b) onto the at least one cable only during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first cable channel; (ii) after at least one cable amplifier in the downlink direction from the at least one remote location; (a) detecting the modulated information received on the at least one cable and retransmitting the modulated information over the air on a second carrier during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first broadcast channel. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. In an interactive television system, a method for communicating information to at least one central receiver from at least one remote receiver location, each remote receiver location connected to a cable television system, the cable television system for transmitting at least one video signal in a downlink direction over at least one cable, the at least one cable having at least one amplifier along the at least one cable, each amplifier serving at least one remote location, the method comprising the stems of:
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(i) at at least one remote location; (a) modulating the information to be communicated from the at least one remote location onto a first carrier; (b) transmitting the modulated first carrier of step (i) (a) onto the at least one cable only during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first cable channel; (ii) after at least one cable amplifier in the downlink direction from the at least one remote location; (a) detecting the modulated information received on the at least one cable and retransmitting the modulated information over the air on a second carrier during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first broadcast channel; (iii) at at least one central location; (a) receiving the transmissions of step (ii)(a) and detecting the information therein.
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10. In an interactive television system, a method for communicating information to at least one central receiver from at least one remote receiver location the remote location comprising a repeater, each remote receiver location connected to a cable television system, the cable television system for transmitting at least one video signal in a downlink direction over at least one cable, the at least one cable having at least one amplifier along the at least one cable, each amplifier serving at least one remote location, the method comprising the stems of:
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(i) at at least one remote location; (a) receiving information from a wireless transmitter; (b) modulating the information to be communicated from the at least one remote location onto a first carrier; (c) transmitting the modulated first carrier of step (i)(b) onto the at least one cable only during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first cable channel; (ii) after at least one cable amplifier in the downlink direction from the at least one remote location; (a) detecting the modulated information received on the at least one cable and retransmitting the modulated information over the air on a second carrier during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first broadcast channel. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. An interactive cable television system for communicating information from at least one remote location along at least one cable, the system comprising:
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at least one amplifier along the at least one cable for amplifying signals communicated along the at least one cable; a cable head transmitter for transmitting at least one video signal downlink over the at least one cable; a response module at at least one remote location along the at least one cable, the response module comprising; a modulator for modulating the information onto a first carrier; a transmitter for transmitting the modulated information onto the at least one cable only during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first cable channel; and a multiplexed receiver/transmitter, coupled to the at least one cable after at least one amplifier in a downlink direction from the response module, for detecting the modulated information and for retransmitting the modulated information to a central receiver. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. In a cable television system for transmitting at least one video signal in a downlink direction over at least one cable, the at least one cable having at least one amplifier along the at least one cable, a response module for communicating information from at least one remote location along the at least one cable, the module comprising:
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a modulator for modulating the information from at least one remote location onto a first carrier; and a transmitter for transmitting the modulated information onto the at least one cable only during at least some of the blanking intervals of a first cable channel.
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Specification